From the Criticism of Document to the Criticism of Text (pt.4)

Hasan Hanafi

The author of this research work tries to represent a method for utilizing social and human sciences in hadith crticism and text analysis of Prophetic hadiths from tree perspectives: sociological, historical and literary criticisms. He then represents the models or genres of the hadith to display how to apply each type of criticism. In the previous parts, Dr Hanafi gave a definition of hadith criticism as well as the value and necessity for this criticism and he also verified the Sahih of al-Bukhari as a whole. He indicated the relation of the hadith with the Qur'an and elucidated their interdependence, moreover, he made explicit various genres (direct quotation, narration, questioning and answers, and the use of the sign lanquage) in the prophetic hadiths. He cited the historiocty of the form and content of the hadith so as to prove that the form (structure and mode of addressings) in the hadith is a function of the laws and rules of oral report, the content (subject) of the hadith is in the line with its synchronic conditions , customs, practices and the characteristics of those days. He also demonstrated the social, cultural, political and religious conditions of the age of the Prophet throughout the Prophetic hadiths. In the present part, he introduces hadith as a source of historical information regarding unknown things (i.e. the Heaven, the Hell, the World of Spirits, and etc.), and information about the future. Meanwhile, he verifies the effects of customs, traditions, believes, myths, rites and etc. on the hadith and points out to the artistic and literary genres which exists in the decriptive and narrative hadiths.

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